Challenged in China

4. CPJ's Recommendations

CPJ offers the following recommendations to Chinese authorities and the international community.

To China's government:

Release all journalists imprisoned for their work. China is one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least 32 in prison as of December 1, 2012.

Implement reforms to bring China’s laws and practices
in line with international standards for press freedom and freedom of
expression. Put an immediate end to all state censorship of newspapers,
broadcasters, and other outlets.

End the use of national security and state
secrets laws to prosecute journalists.

Halt the arbitrary detention, surveillance, and harassment
of journalists.

Ensure that local officials do not commit
violence against journalists because of critical media coverage. Bring to
justice all those responsible for such attacks.

Allow international reporters access to all
areas of the country, including Tibet and Tibetan areas of Qinghai and Gansu.
Do not withhold visas or other documentation that international reporters need to
work in China because of their reporting.

Cancel regulations that require real-name registration
for Internet access, which will exacerbate cybercrime.

Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which China signed in 1998. As a member of the United
Nations, honor Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this
right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers.”

Allow mainstream journalists to form an
independent professional organization. The officially sanctioned All-China Journalists
Association has failed to address their needs.

Allow the establishment of independent,
privately held newspapers, radio stations, and television news channels.

To the European Union:

Insist that future political and economic
relationships be dependent on China demonstrating improvements in press freedom
and Internet freedom.

Make the release of imprisoned journalists a
priority condition for enhancing diplomatic, strategic, and commercial
engagement with China, including through new trade and investment pacts.

The Delegation of the European Union to China should
monitor closely the situation of press freedom and apply to Chinese journalists
EU guidelines on human rights defenders.

The European Parliament, and in particular its
Subcommittee on Human Rights, should closely monitor the press freedom
situation in China and hold public hearings on press freedom in China.

To the United States:

Insist that future political and economic
relationships be dependent on China demonstrating improvements in press freedom
and Internet freedom.

Make the release of imprisoned journalists a
priority condition for enhancing diplomatic, strategic, and commercial
engagement with China, including through new trade and investment pacts.

The president of the United States, the National
Security Council, and the U.S. State Department must engage China’s leaders on
press freedom and freedom of expression in bilateral and multilateral meetings.

The U.S. Congress, including the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, should hold public hearings on press
freedom and freedom of expression in China.

To United Nations member states:

Insist that China release all imprisoned
journalists and make demonstrable progress on press freedom as a condition to its
bid for taking a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2014.

To U.N. Human Rights Council members:

Consider passage of a resolution urging China to
improve its poor press and Internet freedom record and to halt its persistent
jailing of journalists.

The Human Rights Council should task the U.N.
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to investigate the press freedom
situation in China and report the findings and recommendations to the council
and other relevant U.N. institutions.

To international Internet and technology companies:

Join organizations such as the Global Network
Initiative that have developed principles and best practices for dealing with
surveillance and censorship of online services.

Use state-of-the-art, end-to-end secure,
encrypted connections between users and services to limit surveillance and
keyword censorship of services.

Hold dialogues with local journalists and
bloggers to ensure internationally accepted practices are in place to protect
user anonymity and security.